Selling has changed. Markets have changed. Buyers have changed.
Therefore, advice to sellers must change.
Sadly, too many training programs have been slow to adapt, and are still teaching skills from “days of yore.”
Here are the top 5 unprofitable skills that are still floating around:
- Call high.
- Cold calling works.
- Ask everyone for referrals.
- The career path for great sellers is sales leadership.
- Always be closing.
Call high: The best sales happen when you call high, low, left and right. Everyone in the organization can be an influencer and you put your sale at risk by ignoring people in the process. In the last 20 years of selling I’ve never seen a seller lose a piece of business because they have too many contacts. But, I have seen plenty of business lost because the seller had too few.
Cold calling works: This is flat out wrong. With only 1% of cold calls converting to appointments an overall closing rate on cold calls would be close to .3% Cold calling is desperation work. Find ways to attract warm leads and referrals instead.
Ask everyone for referrals: No. Only ask the people you want more of in your life for referrals. Like attracts like. If you ask your poorest customers for referrals, they will refer you to more poor customers.
The career path for great sellers is sales leadership: Not all sellers make great managers. In fact, most fail. Why? Because the skill set is different. Great managers must have patience, are team players, and believe that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Spot the disconnect? It’s not to say that some great sellers can’t be great managers. But, in order to make the transition, they need to be purposeful about the move and receive guidance. At the same time, organizations must build a culture where top performers are rewarded for staying in sales as high performers. Increase their pay, provide them a better or bigger territory, give them more time off. The costs of providing these benefits are far less than the losses you will receive should your top sellers leave for a better opportunity with a competitor.
Always be closing: Nope. Always be prospecting. A focus on closing deals causes sellers to make bad decisions. They close unprofitable business, hang on to dead opportunities far too long, negotiate poorly, and appear desperate. All great selling starts with prospecting. A focus on prospecting will ensure that sellers always have an overflowing pipeline of the best opportunities. Closing will become easier and sellers will have the confidence to walk away from deals that they know are bad for them and the company.
Want to grow your business? Don’t follow ancient sales advice!
I’m curious, what other sales advice have you received recently that just doesn’t work in today’s market?
Great advice and agree…focus on the buyers you want!